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| This is what it looks like right after it happens. We all know what it looks like a few days later. |
I guess, when it rains pours. And no, I am not talking about the weather earlier in the summer. We've experienced our third hydraulic in as many weeks. In the past 3 years here at BCC I can only remember 2, both in the rough. In the previous 9 years before I came to BCC I only remember 3 or 4. All three of the recent leaks were on different parts of the machine, and in the fairways.
For those unfamiliar with the workings of turf equipment, hydraulic fluid is the life blood of these machines. This fluid pumped at high pressure (1000 + PSI) and high temperture (150 + degrees F) and drives the motors the spin the reels to cut, and drives the power train to move the machine. When one of the lines fails it spews the fluid on the grass, killing it on contact.
It is my experience that nothing helps reduce turf loss once the leak has occurred. I have tried scrubbing the grass with Dawn dish washing soap the dissipate the oil. I have also put down activated charcoal to try to absorb the oil. Both times it still resulted in a streak of dead grass. Replacing all of the hoses is not a viable option either. It would be cost prohibitive replacing 30 plus rubber hoses and fittings, and numerous custom bent metal pipes.
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Little holes everywhere!
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This coming Monday (7/29) we will be doing a solid, deep tine aerification on all the greens. I know some are thinking, "why are you going to aerify now, when you are going to be closed for 2 days in just a couple of weeks?" What we are doing Monday is different than the core aerification in August. The purpose of the deep tine is to go into the soil profile and break up a hard layer of soil in the greens.
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It's hard to tell, but there is a lot going on in this picture.
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In the picture above the hard layer begins where the key is pointing between 2.5 and 3 inches. If you look closely you can see some old aerification holes with lighter colored sand going through the profile. At about 4 inches on the tape measure the layer has not been disrupted. The deep tine is going down 6 to 7 inches and fracturing the hard pan layer. This allows roots to go deeper and gets oxygen and water into the soil, making a healthier grass plant. The core aerification we do later in August removes a plug to a depth of between 2 to 3 inches. We then fill those holes with sand to amend the soil and increase healing. It would be virtually impossible to fill the deep holes. The core aerification has a lot more holes and a shallower depth. It would take an enormous amount of sand and be extremely difficult to work the sand into the holes.
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| Roots holding strong to 4 inches, roots thin at 2.5 inches where the soil is cracking. |
